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Literary Talisman + Rising Star Amanda Gorman

January 20, 2021 / Tanja Pajevic / blog / No Comments

Earlier today, we fell in love with Amanda Gorman when she recited “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden and Vice President Harris’ inauguration. The first National Youth Poet Laureate in the US, Gorman is obviously deeply talented. At age 23, she’s also young. I was impressed by her leadership, passion and drive, and how she chose to use this opportunity to “to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal.” (You can read the transcript of her inaugural poem here.) I wasn’t the only one who was moved. Social media immediately exploded with praise for Gorman and her rising star status. A couple of hours after I watched her recite that stunning poem, I chanced on an article I’d ripped out of the Oprah magazine in 2018 and saved for inspiration. The piece detailed Gorman’s challenges […]

Winter 2021 Offerings

December 21, 2020 / Tanja Pajevic / blog / No Comments

If you’d like to work with me in the New Year, here are my winter 2021 offerings: Memoir Mastery: How to Write a Compelling Memoir In this comprehensive 9-week course, you’ll go from feeling alone, confused and overwhelmed to feeling excited and supported in the power of your story, clear in its scope, and confident in the craft and technique of creating a compelling memoir. With 6 online modules, 6 live coaching calls and a private community forum, you’ll get plenty of support and accountability as well as laser-focused coaching within a wonderfully supportive community. You’ll leave this course with a strong foundation for your memoir as well as a clear set of next steps. How the Course Works The keys to writing memoir are getting the right structure, accountability, encouragement and support. That’s why I’ve built the following pieces into this course: 2 […]

What Nourishes You

December 4, 2020 / Tanja Pajevic / blog / No Comments

What’s nourishing you these days? And what’s nourishing your writing? We were speaking about this in our mastermind writing group the other day. A couple of writers shared that the go-to activities that used to nourish/support them during normal times haven’t been as helpful during the pandemic. Can you relate? Time alone, at home, used to be one of the ways my introverted self would recharge. But with four of us at home (and two kids schooling online), there’s not a lot of quiet around here. So I’ve gone outside as much as I’m able. Thank goodness I live in Colorado, where it’s sunny more often than not. Time in nature has been saving me. I’ve also let go of a lot of nonessential obligations. In the past six months, I’ve stepped out of three professional groups. They’re lovely groups, and one of […]

Memoir Mastery: How to Write a Compelling Memoir

November 13, 2020 / Tanja Pajevic / blog / No Comments

How to Write a Memoir As a writer, teacher and long-time memoir fan, I’ve found that writing your story can be an incredibly rewarding journey. It can also be quite challenging. And trying to write a memoir without support can feel like wrestling an octopus. Where do you start? How do you narrow down your story, much less shape it? What do you do when the initial excitement wears off and you find yourself in the mucky middle? And how do you navigate the emotional terrain of delving into the heart of your life experiences? That’s why I created my Memoir Mastery course. For years, I grappled with the disconnect between writing a short piece and completing a full-length manuscript. Writing a book was much more complex, and my MFA program taught us how to write short pieces, not book-length manuscripts. Which meant […]

Claiming Your Voice in Memoir

October 28, 2020 / Tanja Pajevic / blog / No Comments

I’ve been thinking about voice a lot lately. Claiming our voices in the upcoming election has become a critical issue for those of us living in the U.S. But it’s also a critical issue in memoir. Because memoir, it seems to me, is largely about reclaiming our stories. It’s about reclaiming our voices. And that means taking back our power on a soul level. This is what makes it such hard work. There’s the craft and technique of memoir, and then there’s the spiritual journey. And getting to the point where we feel safe enough to allow that voice to fully emerge on the page can be a journey. This is why I stress safety so much in my work. Without a safe container, it’s too easy to go off the rails. This is also when the inner critic tends to rear its […]

Write Your Memoir this Fall

August 17, 2020 / Tanja Pajevic / blog / No Comments

I hope you’re well and navigating these challenging times with kindness and compassion. I’m so thankful for you and our community! Today, I’m excited to share my upcoming offerings. If you’re reading to get cracking on your memoir, here’s how you can work with me this fall: Memoir Mastery My 8-week signature online course, Memoir Mastery: How to Write a Compelling Memoir, starts Wednesday, September 9. Registration is now officially open. In this comprehensive 8-week course, you’ll go from feeling alone, confused and overwhelmed to feeling excited and supported in the power of your story, clear in its scope, and confident in the craft and technique of creating a compelling memoir. With 6 online modules, 4 live coaching calls and a private group forum, you’ll get plenty of support and accountability as well as laser-focused coaching within a wonderfully supportive community. You’ll leave this course […]